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Iroquois Wiki
Welcome to the Iroquois Wiki A wiki with various information about the Iroquois people. Who were the Iroquois? The Iroquois, known as the “People of the Longhouse” were a league constructed by several tribes of First nations such as Mohawk, Oneida, Onodaga etc. The Iroqouis lived primarily in today’s New York, Quebec and Ontario. There are approximately 125,000 living in North America, with 80,000 in te US and 40,000 in Canada. The languages they speak include Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, Tuscarora, English and French. They are one of the largest First Nations groups in North America, and their culture and practices are recognized today. First Contact First contact with the Europeans impacted the lives of the Iroquois peoples greatly, in both good ways and bad. There were several short term and long term consequences following the first contact, impacting the lives of Iroquois peoples. The impact didn’t just last a short while, as they become apparent even after generations have passed. Business / Trading In the business-related aspect, they were able to find trading partners, and in turn make profits. This changed the lives of many people, as many people were able to make profit. The furs they’d gained after hunting down animals for food, that were seen as extras, and sometimes used for decoration, could now be sold to be Europeans for European household goods. This not only benefited them, but the Europeans as well, as furs were seen as items that could be owned by the wealthier, showing class. Furs would soon be in high demand in England, and become a fashion trend. Despite there being positive trading between the two groups going on, there were many rough situations. Many actions done by the Europeans angered the First Nations peoples. First of all, Jacques Cartier, a French explorer kidnapped the two sons of Chief Donnacona. They erected a Christian cross on the Stadacona territory, showing a disrespectful attitude toward the First Nations peoples and their culture. The people kidnapped would be taken back to Europe to prove the journey, as well as help navigate on return voyages. Although Cartier was unable to bring back valuable metals or present a route to Asia, contact still remained, and fur trade was still going on. Both the Native peoples and Europe benefited from the trade. As they continued to trade furs, for European household goods. Culturally In the early 17th century, exploration of Canada by Europeans continued, motivated by commercial gain, and territorial gain. People would be sent to convert people to Christianity. This converted some Iroquois peoples to Christianity. There was now a separation among those who believed in what they’d believed in prior, and the people who converted to Christianity. Large groups of people were separated, and made them more vulnerable. What used to be a big community, may have now split into two. Or, they wouldn’t openly oppose each other, rather, they would feel disconnected from one another. Daily Lives The European explorers impacted the daily lives of the Iroquois greatly. Trade continued among them. They traded furs, commonly found, for European household goods, such as utensils. They also traded for beads, and other European goods. Language changed as well. Interracial marriage was happening, as many Europeans married into the Natives families. They commonly faced challenges such as having a language barrier, family unacceptance, cultural differences, etc. Surnames such as Beauvais, D'Ailleboust, de La Ronde Thibaudière, Delisle, de Lorimier, Giasson, Johnson, Mailloux, McComber, McGregor, Montour, Phillips, Rice, Stacey, Tarbell, and Williams among Kahnawake families suggest intermarriage with non-Natives. Long term Overall, life changed to many Iroquois peoples, as they maintained contact. Some aspects of change were good, while others were bad. It is apparent, however, that First Contact did impact the Iroquois peoples greatly. Condeferation The Iroquois, also known as Haudenosaunee or the “people of the longhouse,” is one of the great aboriginal nations in Canada. The original Iroquois League was often known as the Five Nations, as it was composed of the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca nations. After the Tuscarora nation joined the League in 1722, the Iroquois became known as the Six Nations. When John A. Macdonald was planning for the confederation of Canada, the confederation impacted the Iroquois group in so many ways. After the first contact with the Europeans, especially Jacques Cartier, the relationship between the new settlers and the Iroquois hardened, since Cartier “kidnapped” two natives back to Europe. As they enter 1701, they signed a peace treaty with the French. But the Iroquois have a deep relationship with American too. They fought in the American Revolution War, alongside Britain and against the French. As the War concluded, George Washington ordered to destroy the alliance between them, and they burned many villages and houses. After the Revolutionary War, the Iroquois reestablished their ancient central fireplace of the League at Buffalo Creek. One of the Captains of the Iroquois army, Captain Joseph Brant, left their beloved home--- New York, to settle in Quebec (Present day Ontario). As John A. Macdonald and the British saw the loyalty of the Iroquois to the royal Crown, the Iroquois were given large amount of land grant on the Grand River. As they cross the river, when they lived were named after their leader, which now is named Brant’s Ford. But by 1847, their village began to expand, as many more new European settlers arrived in the village, and changed its name to Brantford. In the 1830s many of the Onondaga, Oneida, Seneca, Cayuga and Tuscarora relocated into the Indian Territory, the Province of Upper Canada and Wisconsin. Today, the Iroquois lived and settled primarily in Ontario, and Quebec, Canada, and New York, US. The impact of confederation impacted the Iroquois severely and made them what they are today, as one of Canada’s best nations! Disease and Medicine Iroquois Medical Practices: 1. Treating Mind and Body Before European contact, many native peoples--especially the Iroquois--kept those who had fallen ill among them, rather than isolating them in a sick room or something approaching a hospital. In this way, those who had fallen ill or were injured were made to feel that they were still an integral part of the community, which undoubtedly helped to foster recovery from the kinds of illnesses native peoples suffered from in the years before European contact. With the introduction of European communicable diseases, however, this became a recipe for disaster; keeping people ill with smallpox, for instance, among those not already infected by the disease ensured wider infection of the populace. 2. Medical Practice Natives relied upon "natural" remedies--meaning those not dreamed up by European medical professionals, like bleeding, using purgatives, emetics, and blistering agents as antidotes for a variety of diseases, as well as medicines like tincture of mercury, which slowly poisoned the body (and by using on a long-term basis, could cause dementia--hence the term, "mad as a hatter"). 3. Visions and Health Again, in the readings in Jesuit Relations regarding health and medicine, we are reminded of the importance native peoples placed upon visions or things imagined while in a state of altered consciousness. Our Jesuit correspondents again emphasize their incredulity at the importance natives placed placed upon the visions that occurred to them--and at the lengths they would go to to make the dreams come true--particularly those that pertained to the erotic. Nonetheless, for the Huron (and other Iroquois people) these dreams and visions were very important--"more real the reality." 4. Alcohol and the Altered Conscious Most native peoples sought to achieve a state of altered consciousness, from which they would have visions that would tell them what their life's purpose would be. Often, native peoples ingested a variety of herbs and fungi (peyote, psilocybin mushrooms). When you read any account of native peoples and alcohol during this time period, you inevitably see descriptions of people being falling down drunk. Over the years, historians have attempted a variety of explanations for this behavior--a genetic intolerance for alcohol, depression over the changes to their lives, the massive loss of kin, etc. I argue, however, that the damage done to native communities by alcohol was largely the result of their need to seek these altered states of consciousness. Acts committed while drunk--even when severe--were largely forgiven by native communities, who recognized that a person who committed such a crime while drunk was not able to control themselves, and therefore not completely accountable for their actions. Diseases: Small Pox affected many Iroquois people, leaving villages abandoned, and others became ghost towns. The population of the First Nations peoples were cut in half. Acts and Laws There were many laws and acts which affected the Iroquois. Some of them were made by Iroquois themselves while the others were made by the Canadian government. These laws include the Indian act, Commonwealth Electoral act, and the White and Red papers. Iroquois also had their own codes, The Great Law of Peace, which was created by the six nations of Iroquois together. These acts had great impact on the Iroquois in many ways. In order to assimilate the First Nations, the Indian Act was created in 1876. Canadian government led by Sir John A. MacDonald, combined all the laws about Aboriginal people together, and changed some of them. It provided instructions for the sale of lands and the removal of resources. Also, Aboriginal people, including the Iroquois, could now be charged under the Canadian Criminal Code. However, they were also banned from leaving the reserve, which clearly showed discrimination against the the First Nations. The act plainly stated that Native children were required to attend residential schools, which had great, negative impact on the young generation of Aboriginal. The Indian Act was rewritten in 1951 and revised again in 1985. However, many provisions such as drinking, have since been repealed or have simply fallen into disuse. The Commonwealth Electoral act is an act that gave the Aboriginal the power to franchising. The act was given to people in Western Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory. It included a provision to protect citizens from prosecution for failing to enrol to vote. This affected the Iroquois as they were given an opportunity to vote and gave them more rights and freedom because they could have their own opinion when voting. After Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau had got the power in 1968, his government set a White Paper on Native arguing that Canada shouldn't negotiate any further treaties with the First Nation. He believed treaties were something only signed between nations, instead of within nations. The government also disapproved the Aboriginal land right claims, either, because they were too broad and unspecific. Aboriginals responded with a document called Citizens Plus, in 1970. This later became commonly known as the Red Paper. The Red Paper countered all of the proposals of the White Paper. An Aboriginal delegation, backed by other Canadian citizens, met with the government and successfully convinced it to radically change its policies and positions. With the Red Paper, the Iroquois were able to negotiate more treaties that helped them develop their population, and not lose any of their rights. Gayanashagowa or the Great Law of Peace, was the official constitution of the Iroquois Six Nations, which were Oneida, Mohawk, Cayuga, Onondaga, Seneca and Tuscarora. The law was written on wampum belts, conceived by Deganwidah, known as the Great Peacemaker, and his spokesman Hiawatha. This law was originally created near present-day Victor, New York. The whole constitution has a total of 117 provisions, and there’re approximately 12553 words. In the Great Law of Peace, many rules, or acts, talk about the proper use of symbolisms. The reason is that the Iroquois distinguished their tribes by symbols, so it’s really important to not misuse them. Symbolism plays an important role in the First Nation history, since symbols can represent many things such as identity. In the Great Law of Peace, there is also a big section talks a great deal about the rights to war. Those laws materially affected the Iroquois since they wouldn’t started a war easily. They can start fighting only under certain circumstances, and they need to go through the process of discussing and conferring. Overall, the Iroquois didn’t get any benefit from the several laws proposed by the government. They lost their land and right, and gained very little. And Their own laws restricted their behavior even more. The Iroquois was actually a highly civilized and educated First Nation group, their big desicions were mainly made up by conference of tribe leaders. The laws and acts made Iroquois a better, more democratic Aboriginal group. Repatriation Things are being done to give the Iroquois proper respect. Cultural repatriation is the returning of art or objects to their country or cultural group. It can also refer to the return of human remains to the nearest cultural community. In 1990, the US federal government passed the "Native American Graves Protection and Repatrication Act." The act says that any deferally recognized Native American can request any instritution to return "cultural objects" o the appropriate group, nation or tribe. It includes human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects and objects of cultural patrimony. Bibliography Dean R. Snow (1994). The Iroquois. Blackwell Publishers, Ltd.. ISBN 978-1-55786-938-8. Retrieved July 16, 2010. Charles C. Mann (2006), 1491: new revelations of the Americas before Columbus, Random House Digital, p. 333 Benokraitis, Nijole V. (2011) Marriages & Families, 7th Edition. Pearson Education Inc., New Jersey, p. 58-59 Category:Browse